Ford Captures 100m Dash, Leads Clemson at ACC Outdoor Championships

Coral Gables, FL – Jacoby Ford led a 1-2-3 sweep of the men’s 100m dash Saturday to lead Tiger track & field at the ACC Outdoor Championships. It marked the first sweep of the three spots in that event since Clemson did it 2001 with Jacey Harper, Larry Griffin, and Sultan Tucker.

Clemson finished the men’s competition in sixth place with 69 points.
Florida State and Virginia were co-champions with 141 apiece. On the women’s side, Florida State took first with 160 points. Clemson was eighth in the final standings, with 44 points.

Ford posted a strong effort in winning his first-ever ACC outdoor championship. The reigning NCAA indoor champion in the 60m dash posted a time of 10.28 into a slight headwind to run away with Saturday’s crown.

C.J. Spiller was runner-up after posting a regional-qualifying time of 10.49. It was Spiller’s second All-ACC honor in the 100m dash. Trenton Guy also claimed his first individual all-conference accolade by virtue of his third-place showing (10.51). He also qualified for the East Region meet. Justin Murdock (10.75) was fifth.

Ford became the sixth different Clemson sprinter to win both the indoor 60m dash and outdoor 100m dash in the same season. Shawn Crawford (1998) was the first to accomplish the feat. The double was also previously accomplished by Jacey Harper (2001), Dwight Thomas (2002), Tye Hill (2004), and Travis Padgett (2008).

It marked the fourth straight year a Clemson athlete has claimed the 100m dash, and ninth time in the last 12 years of the event. Padgett won the crown each of the last three seasons, prior to Ford’s triumph Saturday.

Clemson’s decorated two-sport star continued his outstanding meet, as he was runner-up in the 200m dash. Ford turned in a season-best time of
20.88 to lead the Clemson contingent. Guy was sixth (21.18), while Spiller came across seventh (21.56) in the event.

Kristine Scott competed in the 100m and 200m dash finals on Saturday. She finished eighth in the 100m, but rebounded very strong in the 200 final.
The junior from Orlando placed fourth with a time of 23.61, just four hundredths of a second shy of earning her first All-ACC honor.

The 4x100m relay team came agonizingly close to defending as event champions. The team of Guy, Ford, Spiller, and Murdock finished runner-up to Florida State with a time of 39.63. The Tigers appeared to have seized control after the first three legs, but a hard-charging effort out of Seminole star and anchor leg Charles Clark thwarted Clemson’s chance at a repeat win.

Will Noble competed well in the men’s 800m run. The Gray Court, SC native posted a time of 1:52.50 and finished in the fifth overall position, his best finish in an ACC meet. He then ran third leg with the Tigers’ 4x400m relay team which finished eighth overall with a time of 3:16.86. Miller Moss, Murdock, and Jasen Turnbull completed the lineup. Travis Swaggard was unavailable due to injury.

Caroline Kennedy matched the school record in the women’s pole vault at 12’11.5”. The previous record was established by Sara Young in 2005.
Kennedy finished fourth on the day for the Tigers. The Orlando, FL product showed incredible toughness after missing on her first two attempts at her opening height. Kennedy has now qualified for the NCAA East Regional for the third consecutive season. Kathleen Majester also contributed a scoring jump of 12’1.5” for the Tigers in the vault.

Josh Fowler was sixth in the triple jump with a career-best effort. The sophomore from Inman, SC had a top mark of 49’11.25”, one of the top 10 distances in Clemson history. Alex Padgett also competed in the field for the men, placing eighth in the discus throw with a mark of 156’10”.
Clemson failed to score in the men’s pole vault for the first time in several years, as Chris Spear returned to action with a ninth-place finish and clearance of 15’7”.